Grand Duchy of Tver

The Grand Duchy of Tver (1246-1485) was a grand princedom located in Tver Oblast, Russia.

History
The Grand Duchy of Tver was first granted to the son of the Grand Duke of Novgorod, Alexander Nevski, in 1246, with its capital in Tver Oblast. Ruled by the Rurikid dynasty, Tver was in effect a marshy bogland ruled by the descendants of Novgorodian fur traders. The area was mainly populated by Russian settlers who fled south to avoid the Golden Horde's raids on the settlements to the north; it was filled with natural defenses that aided the people in sheltering themselves from the cavalry raiders of the Mongol Empire.

In 1318 Dmitry the Terrible-Eyes formed an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania against the Mongol Golden Horde, but the Golden Horde joined forces with the Grand Duchy of Moscow and put down the rebellion. Tver's power was forever destroyed, enabling Ivan III of Russia (Ivan the Great of Moscow) to conquer Tver in 1485.